title: A hands-on experience of the voice of customer analysis in maternity care from Iran.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this paper is to describe the use of voice of customer (VoC) analysis in a maternity care case study, where the aim was to identify the most important requirements of women giving birth and to determine targets for the improvement of maternity care in Fayazbakhsh Hospital in Tehran, Iran.
  
  
  METHODS
  The tools of VoC analysis were used to identify: the main customer segment of maternity care; the most important of women's needs and requirements; the level of maternal satisfaction with delivered services at the study hospital and at a competitor; the nature of women's of requirements (termed Kano levels: assumed, expected, and unexpected); and the priorities of the study hospital for meeting these requirements.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Women identified the well-being of mother and baby as the most important requirements. Women's satisfaction with the services was, with a few exceptions, low to moderate. Services related to most of the maternal requirements were ranked better in the competitor hospital than the study hospital.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results form a solid basis for achieving improvements in the processes of care for mothers and babies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The paper presents a systematic approach to VoC analysis in health care settings as a basis for clinical process improvement initiatives.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Management and Economics, School of Public Health and Institute of Public Health Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. saghlmand@razi.tums.ac.ir
authors.forename: Siamak
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aghlmand
authors.forename: Aboulfath
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lameei
authors.forename: Rhonda
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Small
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007492:Iran; D008427:Maternal Health Services / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D008875:Middle Aged; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011247:Pregnancy; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology* / Q000592:standards; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D058996:Quality Improvement; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult